Online Reviewers wield great power for better or worse

Dealing with happy customers and positive experiences which lead to wonderful online reviews is very rewarding.

But, dealing with a negative experience and the threat of a bad reviews is painful, as explained by one restaurant owner. A user of Yelp himself he finds it repulsive and revolutionary that a tool that can do so much good can be used for a weapon of extortion.

I couldn’t help but leave my thoughts and comments, despite the horrid abuse or even the sometimes justified vindication users have, online reviews are changing the buying, shopping, and business world.

Online Reviews are Powerful

You give a man an inch and he takes a mile.

…but the good news for small businesses is that instead of spending $10k a month in newspaper or yellowbook advertising, they can spend time and energy impressing their clients and earning good reviews.

I know that I am just a pest control guy, but consider this, $10k a month for a full page phone book ad, now take that $10k a month and invest in improving your product or service. Bulwark did just that. We cut phonebook ads and put in back into operations and ultimately our pest control technicians’ pocket. It paid off. Instead of wasting money on advertising that no longer worked, we invested in our people and have reaped the reward.

So yes, review sites like this have a down side, but the rewards on the flip side are well worth the occasional bump.

Invest in Your Future

Investing in your product and/or your people is part of making sure your business survives. Did you know that Gillette invested six years and $750 million to develop it’s razor the Mach3? A razor. A razor that only costs buyers $6 to $10. I can’t fathom spending that kind of money on a razor. How many would they have to sell to make that back? But you know what, it worked. It was a success. The razor is phenomenal. I use it and I love it. That razor captured 20% of the razor market after it’s launch.